DSU’s Dr. Vita Pickrum Appointed to CASE’s Commission on Philanthropy

DOVER, Del. –The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has appointed Dr. Vita Pickrum, vice president of Institutional Advancement at Delaware State University to its Commission on Philanthropy.

Dr. Pickrum was among 19 senior education leaders appointed as new members to CASE’s professional commissions on alumni relations, communications and marketing, and philanthropy. She was the only one appointed from the nation’s Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU).

Each commission – the Commission on Alumni Relations, the Commission on Communications and Marketing, and the Commission on Philanthropy—has 17 members. The new commissioners will begin their service in July 2017 and serve three-year terms.

A DSU administrator since 2008, Dr. Pickrum is also the president of the DSU Foundation, through which she is responsible for all private fundraising for the University. She spearheaded DSU’s successful five-year $20 million fundraising campaign that significantly strengthen DSU’s endowment and scholarship pool.

Under her leadership, the University also hosts the annual HBCU Philanthropy Symposium, in which fundraising executives from black colleges and university from around the meeting to share their approaches to raising money for their institutions and learn about the latest best practices.

Dr. Pickrum currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Delaware Alliance of Nonprofit Agencies and the Delaware Community Foundation. She has been qualified as a Certified Fund Raising Executive by CFRE International.

About CASE — The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas. Founded in 1974, CASE’s membership includes more than 3,670 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in more than 80 countries around the globe. CASE serves nearly 81,000 advancement practitioners on the staffs of its member institutions and has more than 17,000 professional members on its roster.